Looking For A Hero

   A few days ago my husband and I took our kids up to Latrobe, PA where the Pittsburgh Steelers are having their annual training camp. It was pretty exciting to see this well known team running drills and practicing for the upcoming NFL season. As I sat on the sideline watching everything unfold, I couldn't help but notice the hundreds of people who were lined up along the fence in hopes of getting a photo or a signature from one of the players as they entered or exited the playing field. They were reaching out for a hero.
   I started thinking about my own heroes, and what qualified them to be a hero in my eyes.  It has nothing to do with wealth, talent, athletic ability, or fame. My heroes are everyday ordinary people who I know personally.....
   My Dad....who lost his own father at the age of 4. Even though he did not have an example of how a father should be, he has excelled in being a father to me and my siblings. He loves unconditionally and continues to be a fountain of resource for us.
   My Granny.... who's husband was killed while fighting in WWII. She pulled on her inner strength and did what she had to do to raise my dad, aunt, and uncle by herself. She worked multiple jobs and became very resourceful with what she had. She was one of the hardest workers I have known.
   My Grandmother... who was born out of wedlock during a time when it was very taboo and left with a family friend to raise. My great grandmother denied her publicly, but my grandma determined in her heart that she was going to show as much love and affection as she could to her own children and grandchildren.
  My brother in law... who despite a painful past is not afraid to share his experiences in order to help another along the journey. He has the heart of a pastor, and even though he was displaced from that position in a horrific manner, he still functions as a pastor. He cares deeply for God's children and pursues them passionately.

  My friend... who lost her father in a farming accident at the age of 6. When he was no longer around to protect her, she endured years of childhood sexual abuse. When she finally revealed the abuse, she was blamed for it. This woman deeply loves her husband and children. She has been a comfort and a huge resource for me when my daughters revealed their own abuse. She has a passion for God and for life that is unmatched.
  My husband... who I see rise to the challenge again and again. Even though I don't always make it easy for him, he loves me in spite of my faults. This man loves all of our children as if we had created them ourselves rather than adopting them. He pushes through physical pain to provide for his family. He gives out of lack. He helps from his heart. He brings me chocolate.....and a card with encouraging words.
  These people are a few of my heroes. They have lived through some really tough places, yet still were (and are) able to love without reservation. They were (and are) Godly examples whether they know it or not. I would rather be in relationship with these people, my heroes, than have all of the autographs and photos of the most famous people in the world!

Transfigured

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of The Lord.  The Transfiguration is an important template for my novel, meaning I'm prepared to think about it.  Who was there, why that's important, the collision of Old and New Testaments, the enormity of going off for a hike with Jesus and finding yourself face to face with God.  The surprise factor is one of the aspects of my faith that fights my nature.  I like to see things coming.  The problem is with God you can't.  He reserves the right to be beyond comprehension.  Truth be told he is beyond our understanding by definition.  I don't like the first five minutes of a surprise, but I usually warm up to it, before it's over, especially when it's a new aspect of the unknowable revealed.

The Ties that Bind

Image from: http://www.rgbstock.com/cache1oR94B/users/t/ta/tacluda/300/mAVcl74.jpg

Everything is related:

That is what Family entails

One person’s life winds round another

As the circle grows, the cords weave intricate

Patterns, all somewhere pulling on a heart,

Tying them together as they reach Out to faraway places

Even work for one depends on another

Without that Deference, not born of subjugation

But the never-ending crescendo of Love’s sweet song,

The cord snaps in selfish ambition

And someone is left dangling from a frayed end

Of broken communication and pain

Strong cords Protect those winding through it,

Even as it stretches To the world, From the world

Creating a buffer of encouragement

Comparing  its unique strands to the world weakens the Shield

For as Christ stands between us and God’s Wrath

So the Family should stand between its members

And the fickle, judgmental world’s arrogance,

Which doesn’t care that your family

Is not “most families” in it because

It thinks only of itself, no matter that it doesn't Own you

So no wonder that you don't seem to Belong

Closing the circle against Harm does not mean closing it to Love

For Family is strongest when hearts within are tied to the Savior

And He makes everything fall into place within the Circle of His Hands

The Heart of the Request

We have an 18 month old little sweetheart named Trinity. Whenever Trinity has a request for anything her little heart desires she calls out "Here ya go...Here ya go....Here ya go" with her little pudgy palms up and fingers motioning for the goods to come her way. So when she wakes in the morning she stands at the base of her high chair and bellows "Here ya go..Here ya go". When she notices me take her cup from the fridge she sounds the trumpet of a "Here ya go...Here ya go" While playing ball with one of her older brothers she reminds him of her turn with a "Here ya go...Here ya go" And anytime anyone has any kind of food that has the potential to be appealing to her she makes her way to them "Here ya go...Here ya go...Here ya go". Now, some may say this is a sure sign of a rude untrained child, however when I look at that little pumpkin with her tousled brown curls and her tootsie-pop brown eyes I can see that she means no disrespect...that is just her current language. As her moma, I know and understand what she is saying, and what she is expecting from her request, so I have to remember when there is a new babysitter or visitor that I should explain to them what she is saying so they too can understand her. So she toddles about the house with her little "Here ya go...Here ya go...Here ya go" as she follows me through my daily tasks. How familiar this sounds....We have found ourselves in places in life when we mirror this scenerio with God. We find ourselves having a request, but not the right words. Sometimes we may not even know what we want...we just know it is something only He can provide. Instead of waiting until we have the right words, or the right way to say them, or instead of waiting until we know what we truly desire....we ask. We may say it in the quietness of our hearts, we may speak it aloud among close friends in a prayer time, or we may bellow it out in desperation. Then we may think to ourselves, Oh if I only made my request in a better way, in a more delicate manner, in a more urgent way...maybe then God would have known what I meant. But no, God knows. He not only can see into our big hopeful eyes, but He can also peer directly into our hearts. So don't feel the burden of selfishness sneaking up on you when you feel the urge to request the desires of your heart.  And if you may not feel like you have the right eloquent words to say, go ahead and ask anyway....ask in your language...ask from your heart.  God knows your heart and is the only one who can answer your request.

Little Ears

Prior to having children I listened to a contemporary Christian radio station whenever I was driving. When my eldest was a toddler she expressed a strong preference for VeggieTales cd's. We began listening to those instead of the radio when I was driving. It was a tough switch for me because listening to Bob and Larry sing song after song literally gave me a headache. Eventually I was able to listen to the singing cucumber without getting a headache, but I still would have preferred to listen to the radio. After a steady diet of their cd's for a few years, I started listening to the radio again sometimes when we are in the van together. I falsely assumed that it was strictly for my benefit and thought it was just background noise to my little ones. My three-year-old son often sings while he plays. Several times this summer as I have listened to him singing, I realized that the lyrics he was singing, such as "You are wanted," were from songs the radio station played. Although we listen to a variety of secular music - from preschool songs to patriotic songs to musicals such as "Annie" and "Mary Poppins," most of the songs we listen to are teaching my children about the Lord and the truths contained in the Scriptures. This is one way to follow the instruction given in Deuteronomy 11:18, "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads."

He's Got My Back!

My husband and I are on a much-needed vacation at the beach with our pastors, their family and many of our church family; about 25 adults, teens and children, and 4 dogs.  (Just a tiny bit of pandelirium here...haha!)  It has only been in the past few years that I have spent time at the ocean since my childhood, and I am finally beginning to feel confident enough to go out beyond waist-deep and to dive into the waves before they pummel me into the sandy bottom.  

Today the waves were fairly docile, and my hubby commented that God had given us an "adult swim day" in which the kids would have been bored to tears with the lack of crazy pounding waves.  Yesterday, however, the wind was blowing and the waves were knocking me all over the place.  Just about the time things seemed to calm down, Philip would call out to me, "Watch out behind you!"  Usually the warning came in time to spare me an extra dunking, but if it didn't, he always checked to be sure that I was okay.  I kept thanking him for watching out for me.  Today when he was watching my back, I thought of the Scripture about the Lord hemming me in behind and before, and I had the sense that He was reminding me that as much as my husband loved me and wanted to protect me, that it was nothing compared to the Lord's love and protection over me.  I am so grateful that, first of all, God is watching over me, and second, that he has blessed me with a loving husband to watch out for me as well, not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually.  I am a blessed woman!! 

Psalm 139:5 (NIV)

You hem me in behind and before,

and You lay Your hand upon me.

Psalm 121:7-8 (NIV)

The Lord will keep you from all harm--

He will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Dogs, Toilets & Laughter

While going out for lunch with my husband & daughter, we discussed our dog. I asked my husband if he had given our dog, Scooby-Doo, water before we left. He said he had. I then mused over the fact that dogs will drink out of the toilet bowl if need be, to get a drink of water, this is disgusting to we humans. However, not so much to dogs. God did make them to be resourceful.

I said, "Scooby can't get a drink from our new toilet, because it's tall and he can barely put his paws on the rim now". I wondered aloud, what if Scooby tried to drink from the toilet while we were gone? He could jump onto the edge of the bathtub. While pushing off with his back paws, he would reach out with his front paws putting them onto the edge of the bowl, then lean down to get a drink. He would then, most likely, slip and fall head first into the toilet, yelp and end up flipping around in the cold water. Our dog hates getting a bath, so he would be freaked out. I could imagine entering the house with a shivering wet Scooby, his ears back and tail firmly tucked between his legs, eyes bulging practically out of his head, saying, "help me, I'm wet and cold"! 

By the time I am done imagining out loud, Sarah and I are laughing so hard I'm almost snorting. Paul is driving and laughing, saying, "poor Scooby-Doo".

I also wonder if God, thinks of the funny things we do, and laughs. I absolutely know He has a sense of humor. He made me and gave me this amazing imagination, to not only make me laugh, but my family as well. May God bless us all with laughter, even if it comes from a thirsty little dog, just trying to get a drink.

A merry heart does good like a medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Seeing

  My job requires me to work in people's homes. One of these houses has an attached apartment with a gentleman who has his own designated staff person until 9pm. Once they leave for the evening, he goes to bed and we typically don't hear from him.
   On a Friday night shortly past 9pm all 4 of my individuals were in bed and my side of the house was quiet. Suddenly the guy from next door burst into the house appearing very agitated. This man can be pretty intimidating. He stands well over 6 feet tall and has to weigh over 250lbs. In the past he has actually ripped an industrial door clean off of the hinges.
   My first reaction was that my heart started racing as I stood to deal with the situation. He was yelling and swinging his arms around, hitting himself in the head and shaking. I have never worked directly with him and I could not understand his body language. I was feeling nervous and concerned for everyone's safety.
    The more that the other staff person (who also had never worked with this person) and I struggled to understand him, the more agitated he became. We knew that if we couldn't break through the communication barrier, things would continue to escalate. We kept reassuring him that we were trying to understand him and that we were going to figure this out. We tried yes and no questions, having him draw/write, and other communication devices. Finally he called his sister who interpreted for us.    
   This gentleman is often misunderstood. Anyone looking into that situation from the outside may have called the police because it appeared as if he was going to assault us. In reality, he was frustrated because he felt sorry for something that he had done earlier in the day before we had come on shift. Once we understood him and reassured him that everything was okay, he left as abruptly as he had come. Had we not purposely strived to understand him, the potential for harm was imminent.
     There are so many times when I have looked at someone and assumed that I know what is going on with them. I have put words in their mouth, made my judgement, and written them off without asking them the questions that will show me their heart and often dispel my misconceptions. I must remember that I cannot see with my eyes how God is moving in their heart.
   
    I Samuel 16:7 ......"man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart".